Member Since:
Sep. 12, 2013
Kris Richards
Smashwords book reviews by Kris Richards
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The Cagliostro Chronicles
on Sep. 12, 2013
I'm struggling to understand why this book has been rated so low. It is good, old fashioned space opera fun with humour, adventure and action. This isn't hard scifi where the author needs to explain the science behind everything - this is more Firefly, Andromeda style science fiction. You know the type... fun! I read this is one sitting, stopping only for coffee. It was great. The dialogue is smooth, the prose well crafted and the overall technical writing pretty damn good. I've seen reviews complaining about the FTL drive. Considering that this technology isn't even invented yet - I find the fact that people are questioning the plausibility a bit of a laugh. This is a fiction novel, set in space. It's not exactly realistic is it? Just let go and enjoy the ride. The three main characters were strong, and multi-faceted, I found them to be layered and easy to relate to. In fact, I think most readers would find something of themselves in them and that's a great thing. If you let go and just enjoy this - you won't be disappointed.
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Changed Forever
on Oct. 01, 2013
Sara and Kara are twins, with the unique ability to interpret their dreams. The story unfolds and the reader is introduced to the themes of metaphysics, kara, subconscious, and interpretation. The book is an interesting concept. As YA we’ve become accustomed to ‘sparkly vampires’ and ‘romance’ novels that neither leave the young reader with questions or stimulate their brain – this, however, allows the reader to interpret the world differently and expand and explore their perceived beliefs; the author manages to do this without an overbearing authorial voice and bias – not an easy feat. The flow and pace of the book was a bit hit and miss, at times I felt the author lost the magical flow with some dialogue, and there were times that I felt a little jarred out of the story with a few oddly chosen phrases – but the editing was good and the length just right. Overall, this is a very unique concept – and not one I’ve read since Neal Stevenson’s novels. I’d happily read more speculative novels like this.